I enjoyed and emphatically agree with Kathy O'Connell's posting, but she
struck
one chord that disturbs me:

>     I'm not a Twain scholar by a long shot, just an ink-stained wretch who
> has labored long in the Fourth Estate, always keeping in mind that Sam was
a
> newspaperman even before he took to learning how to pilot riverboats.

We've lately heard the same tune several times, especially from our friend
The
Janitor.  "I'm not a scholar, but..."

One of the things I enjoy most about Twain Forum is the range of
participants and
slants.   Yes, scholarly give-and-take often flares, as well it should.
But
there are also the members (whether scholars or not) who want to tell us
that
Twain was mentioned last night on some tv show, or who pass on news about
Hal
Holbrook, films, etc.  Further, it seems to  me that the scholars themselves
are
of many denominations--from the broadest Twainian generalists to people who
seem
wholly preoccupied with current debates over Huckleberry Finn; from those
who
dote on  the Elmira gathering and such, to folks (like me) who would rather
have
both kneecaps broken than to fidget through an academic session.

I'm distressed by the notion that those of us who lug around advanced
degrees
have in any way intimidated others.  As Kathy  hints,  such a situation
would be
especially unfortunate (not to say ludicrous) in a group devoted to a man
who was
himself diverse, self-educated and anything but pedantic; and who rarely
sought a
select audience when he could snag a big one.

Mark Coburn